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Castle Drakenhof
Castle Drakenhof was the former capital of the province of Sylvania during the rule of its last Imperial Count, Otto von Drak. Though the town of Drakenhof is considered the original "official" capital of the province, nearly all the rulers of Sylvania, both living and undead, has made the Castle as their seat of power. This accursed citadel was where Vlad von Carstein began his reign of terror, and from which battlements he summoned his Undead army. It was home to generations of von Draks before Vlad came, and some say it is the home of Mannfred von Carstein to this day. Adventurers still seeking the towering castle out because of the treasure trove of occult lore rumored to be contained in its library. It is said that copies of all the great sorcerers' works can be found there, shackled tight to shelves made from wood that bleeds scarlet in the candlelight, but no one who has sought them has ever returned. The castle itself is huge, built on top of a massive cliff from where it dominates the surrounding forest. It has four mighty towers and a gigantic central keep, beneath which are a huge number of crypts, dungeons and abandoned torture chambers. Secret passages run all the way through the cliff and are said to come out in the woods. The notorious poet-adventurer Felix Jaeger, who was reputed to be the last living visitor to Drakenhof, reports that the castle seems abandoned, though thin screams emanate from its spires every night. The curtains and tapestries have rotted away, and the furniture is cracked and dusty. In the dining hall, the obsidian goblets, from which Mannfred and his lackeys used to drink blood, still stand undisturbed on the banqueting table still covered in a crimson tint. The walls of the great hall are hung all along with portraits of the Vampire Counts: tall, gaunt, red-eyed men who have each carved a bloody furrow into history. In recent years, it seems that some Undead evil has returned to the castle. Peasants in nearby villages claim their younger residents are mysteriously vanishing. Huge red-eyed wolves prowl the forest and keep trespassers at bay. By night, sinister coaches make their way into the castle on clandestine business, and the dead once more stir uneasily in their tombs. Recently, Witch Hunter Captain Gunther Stahlberg lead an expedition to investigate rumours of a Necromancer taking up residence in Drakenhof. The group noticed that the ruined battlements had been rebuilt, and saw a banner depicting a wolf flying from the highest tower. Upon entering the castle, they were greeted by a man identifying himself as "Von Carstein" and a gruesome parody of a nobleman's feast. After a brief fight, the Witch Hunters fled into the woods surrounding the castle. Picked off one by one by various undead, Stahlberg wrote down his experiences in the hopes that they would reach the Grand Theogonist. The letter, however, was quickly intercepted by the lackies of Drakenhof's inhabitant. Sources * : Warhammer Armies: Vampire Counts (8th Edition) ** : pg. 19 * : Gotrek and Felix: Vampireslayer (Novel) by William King ** : Chapter: Nine * : White Dwarf 236 (US) ** : pg. 37-38 es:Castillo Drakenhof Category:Carstein Category:Cities of the Empire Category:Sylvania Category:C Category:D